For space-to-ground communications using a laser, weather conditions have long been a major issue. Laser communications are desirable since a laser channel may have far greater bandwidth, and therefore allow far greater data rates, than radio frequency (RF) channels. Conventionally, weather mitigation often involves switching from laser-based communications to RF-based techniques, with an attendant loss in throughput. Alternatively, weather-related problems may be addressed by using multiple laser communications terminals, each configured to access a single site since the terminals conventionally have a very small field of view (e.g., only a few microradians), or by attempting to move the terminal to another location to avoid the weather. However, each of these solutions has associated costs and SWAP (size, weight and power) penalties. In addition, moving the terminal may result in unavoidable down-time in the communications system while the terminal is being moved.